L.A. Suburb Votes to Recall Its Mayor

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, January 28, 2003

The mayor and three other top officials accused of squandering nearly $8 million in city money were overwhelmingly ousted by voters in this blue-collar Los Angeles suburb.

In their place, voters backed a slate of candidates endorsed by recall proponents in a bitter campaign.

"A few years ago, this city had money. Now these corrupt politicians have spent it all," said retired seamstress Adelma Aguilera, 63.

City officials were accused of interfering with an earlier recall effort, and state workers monitored Tuesday's vote after some residents expressed concerns about intimidation. Secretary of State Kevin Shelley acknowledged such monitoring was "extreme" but said it was warranted.

More than 80 percent of voters in this city of 98,000 cast ballots to remove Mayor Xochilt Ruvalcaba, Vice Mayor Raul Moriel, Councilwoman Maria Benavides and Treasurer Albert Robles.

The recall effort was led by the South Gate Police Association, which cited council members' decisions to increase their own salaries by 2,000 percent, strip the city clerk of most of her duties and spend nearly $8 million in city reserves.

More than $1 million went toward the legal defense of Robles, who faces charges of possessing assault weapons. Earlier this month, a judge dismissed charges that Robles threatened four people, including two state legislators.

Recall opponents said the union was trying to block an effort to rein in rogue officers.

Leading up to the election, City Hall provided free trash pickup for a month, medical care for some and raffled a three-bedroom home to one lucky resident.

Robles defended the freebies.

"The council decided to do some innovative things. They raffled a home to bring attention to the shortage of housing in California," he said.